"Hey sweetie, what's wrong?" Chris knelt down next to the bed on which Jeff was laid, silently sobbing. He tentatively put his hand out to touch the younger man, but withdrew when the shaking body visibly flinched. "Jeff, angel, look at me. Whatever it is, all you have to do is tell me and I'll make it better."

"Scared Chris." Jeff looked up at his lover; eyes red-rimmed and sore, and sparkling with more as yet unshed tears. He roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then wrapped his arms around himself, as if he was trying to protect himself from something. "I love you so much. And… I'm scared."

"What are you scared of baby?" Carefully Chris stood up, then sat on the edge of the bed, gently taking one of Jeff's delicate hands and squeezing it. Encouraged that he didn't pull away, he lifted it up and kissed it, caressing the soft skin.

"Us," Jeff sniffed, sobbing threatening to catch his breath again. When he realized that Chris was still holding his hand and was still there, he was reassured and sat up a little, leaning back against the headboard. "Sit here and hold me please?"

Quickly Chris did as he was asked, settling himself next to Jeff and wrapping his arms around him. He was concerned: he knew Jeff could be fragile but he never thought that anything could hurt him this much. "Angel why are you scared of us?" he asked gently. "I thought I was making you happy."

"Oh you do, you really do," Jeff said, smiling briefly. Then his face fell. "But I know it can't last. You and me, we can't be this happy. I don't deserve it." He sniffed again. "I'll ruin everything and you'll leave me."

"Oh Jeff," Chris sighed. He'd thought Jeff was past this. He'd done so much to ensure that he felt confident in his love, to persuade him that he was worthy of being loved and that Chris truly did love him. But it wasn't enough. It seemed like it never was.

"Are you going to leave me Chris?" Jeff sounded so childlike, so innocent, Chris' heart melted there and then.

"I'll never leave you Jeff honey, you know that. I love you baby, and nothing is going to break us up, nothing at all." He pulled Jeff even closer. He couldn't ever leave Jeff, even if he'd wanted to. He knew exactly what he'd do. Jeff relied on him now, relied on Chris to keep him going.

It wasn't a responsibility Chris had gone out looking for, but when he fell in love with Jeff, it was what he had been given.

And it was the responsibility that gave him something to live for.

Jeff wasn't the only fragile one. Chris hoped that one day he'd realize that.